Sky is launching Sky Q, which enables what it calls “fluid viewing,” the ability to connect various wireless devices so you can watch the same programme, seamlessly, on any device wherever you are. The launch campaign by agency Brothers and Sisters breaks tomorrow (February 12).

Sky chief marketing, sales and digital officer Stephen van Rooyen says: “For our biggest and most innovative technology launch, we wanted our biggest and most innovative ad campaign ever. On screen we have delivered something that is a truly world class in terms of creative and production. As the content explodes from screens, viewers will believe it has actually liquefied and that the drops contain real pieces of a movie or TV show. The fluid ethos of Sky Q will be carried over into how we deliver the campaign across multiple traditional, digital and social media platforms.”

The campaign, planned and bought by MediaCom, includes TV, radio, cinema and print, as well digital and social channels. The digital execution includes a number of firsts in its use of ad sequencing via mapping on digital outdoor, new formats such as Twitter Moments and Facebook Canvas Ads, as well as new display techniques for mobiles and tablets.

Brothers and Sisters ECD Andy Fowler says: “As always Sky wanted to push the limits of creativity. Getting to something truly original has required mind-boggling skill and effort. The whole thing took one year including five months of intensive pre-production prior to any filming. In total the ads involved 52 artists, 105 liquid VFX shots, over 4,000 individual simulations and an incredible 45,000 hours of rendering to get the ads just perfect.”

The ads were directed by Johnny Green with post production by The Mill and animation by Neon.

Sky (now with James Murdoch back as chairman – yikes) does indeed seem to have an inexhaustible box of tricks. It’s also the UK’s biggest advertiser and one of the most creative, backing its agencies to be different and showing a praiseworthy degree of loyalty.

Brothers and Sisters has delivered here, a cert for some technical awards surely.

About Stephen Foster

Stephen is a former editor of Marketing Week and London Evening Standard advertising columnist. He wrote City Republic for Brand Republic and is a partner in communications consultancy The Editorial Partnership.

2 comments

Sky fluid what on earth is this all about Stephan van Rooyen, I’ve received so much mail on this and clearly I have no idea what its all about, do I want to join the twitter brigade with so many angry people, or sign up to facebook and receive so many telephone calls from advertisers, or continue to watch a sky program whilst undergoing surgery on my future sky watch simply because its there,perhaps you might consider the product you have is just great as it is, its simple enjoyable the basic. when I receive a letter from sky normally four times a year I say to myself another price increase,I’ve capt my Sky,when it exceeds £100 at present its £82 then I will throw in the towel. Im 75 if I was young as my children, and they are not interested in sky only in the pub on a sporting event,then I have to say Its a no from me, so can anyone tell me apart from the geeks and I was one in my day whom sky fluid is aimed at.